Sunday, December 23, 2012

Early Christmas

I know many families celebrate Christmas before the actual date.  This year we are celebrating it on its date but that may change in the future.  My daughter, Christina, is coming home but won't be here until 11ish on Christmas eve.  But I am very excited to see her since it has been a long time.

Today is wrapping a few gifts and figuring out the menu for Eve and Day and getting to the grocery store before it closes at 6pm plus cleaning up the upstairs for our visitors.

I have written about old time Christmas's which hold terrific memories. I miss my parents and grandparents this time of year.  We always had such fun.  I miss my brothers and now their families.  We each have our own traditions in celebrating the holidays.  Maybe in the future we will be able to all get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving or Easter.

Well, the presents won't wrap themselves.  Have a Merry Holiday!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Holidays and Cheer

I have never been a "true" fan of Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, getting gifts is great as well as giving gifts but to me that holidays should be more about gathering and memories.

Memories of my first Christmases:

One year while bunking in my brother's room (my room hadn't been completed upstairs yet) I swore I would stay awake until Santa arrived.  My little brother fell asleep right away but I remember laying there on the top bunk with the light on, staring at the light bulb for what seemed like hours.  I must have fallen asleep, not realizing it, because I climbed down the ladder later...tiptoed to the bedroom door...creaking it open ever so carefully..peeking over my shoulder to make sure my brother was still asleep...I cautiously walked up the stairs to check out the Christmas Tree.  In all it lit glory the tree stood tall and wondrous.  I saw Santa had already arrived and brought many special presents for my three brothers and I.  I went further up the stairs to  view the stockings and saw they were over-flowing with presents and goodies.  My parents never knew of my Christmas early morning adventure and I didn't go any further than the top of the stairs near the tree.  It was amazing to be the first to see the tree before its beauty would be destroyed by ripped wrapping paper.

Another favorite Christmas is the year I received my very own desk.  It reminds me of the desks in the schoolhouse on the Museum grounds but modernized.  It had a lid the opened up for storage and an attached seat.  But the best part of this gift was what was sitting on the desk.  My first typewriter!  I wiled away many hours pecking at its keys bringing to life various short stories and letters.  It was one of my favorite gifts I have ever received.

In Middle School in Lancaster, New York I was determined to become a police officer.  My brothers all received varied "toys" for their ages, Kelly a new bike (again), Frank collections of Star Wars items and Chris a CB.  I was so disappointed I didn't receive any toys this Christmas only clothes.  There was one last gift under the tree with my name on it and it was shaped like a box.  I hung my head as I reached for it imagining it was more tights or a skirt.  As I picked up the "box" it was very heavy.  I looked at my mom and she just smiled.  I sat down by the tree and tore off the wrapping and inside were two books.  The books were practice tests for taking the Police Officer exams.  I didn't need any toys...I spent hours reading and re-reading the books.  Santa had done it again and made this little girl happy.

We used to travel to celebrate Christmas with my grandparents that lived on the old farm place 3 hours east of Lancaster.  Sometimes these travels were exhausting for my parents having to pack up all the Christmas presents and travel in the middle of the night while us kids slept in the back.  One winter there was a terrible blizzard as we were leaving Western New York on I-90.  Dad was determined to get to Freetown and we headed out.  This is the first year I stayed awake listening to my parents "discuss" Dad's driving skills and the treacherous roads.  Wide-eyed in the back seat with my brothers sleeping soundly around me I felt like I held my breath the whole trip.  5 hours later we were safe in my grandparents driveway.  Santa came on schedule that morning and I am sure there are photographs taken that day of celebrating.

More memories I love to bring to light during the Holidays.  Family traditions alter over the years but I cherish each new experience and memory.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Sort & Conquer

I started to "tackle" the basement yesterday.  I can't believe the amount of stuff junk one accumulates over the years.  I need a refreshers course on the important things to keep and the things I can shred.  I bought a new shredder just for this purpose.

Anchor Hocking Grape Pattern Punch Bowl
The spiders scattered as I started moving boxes around.  I found some extra space on a shelf for more of my obsessive compulsive behavior purchases! (see above: I own 3 punch bowls and see below)
Snack Trays!
I own over 200 of the snack trays and probably equal of the punch glasses.  If I see them at an antique store or thrift store I will buy them.  I have avoided buying them off eBay over the past 6 years (strong will).  I used them for my daughter's graduation.  The reason I started collecting the snack trays was to use at her wedding one day (she was 3 at the time).  It all began with a $5 punch bowl at the Salvation Army downtown Minneapolis in 1994.  It came with 10 glasses, hooks and ladle.

Don't get me wrong my glassware obsession isn't just for Anchor Hocking but....many other facets that crowd my shelves and fill many boxes.  If you ever worked for Schwan's you may remember back in the day they would give dishes to the employees.  Well, I have a few collected and then the collection grew and grew.  I still collect them when I find them.  4 canister sets, dozens of plates (both sizes) and 2 platters later...don't ask me how many mugs I have (I lost count).

But with my glassware obsession I do use all of it (well most).

Sort & Conquer!  I grabbed a few boxes and sorted out "stuff"!  Luckily I just recently purchased a few pairs of shoes so the shoe boxes have come in handy to gather "misc" items I am not sure what to do with but can't toss!  The few boxes I did get to Sunday are not even a small dent in the work to come but....I shall conquer.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

New things and more

August was the last post I wrote...time really does escape you.

I have been a little busy but not so much I couldn't find a few minutes to type up my musings and vent share.

The Museum is closed for the season so it is time to get moving and work on the new exhibits for 2013 season.  There is also grant research to do to get the Garth Williams illustrations properly conserved, more organization on the items the Museum wants in the new book William Anderson is writing for us, research and proofing for the new permanent signage for the Museum grounds and of course inventorying new items into Past Perfect.  I call that list Job Security!

Here is a tip for Past Perfect....please have other Museum Professionals that have been working with Past Perfect for numerous years help you perfect the program.  There tends to be a lot of moving of hands off keyboard to use the mouse.  This is very inefficient and should be resolved.  OK....I admit I am not a MOUSE fan...I love my F keys and Alt keys and love my keyboard.  Raise your hand if you love your keyboard.....and now who love their mouse.  I am sure we are a divided force much like PC and MAC!  Don't get me wrong, I will always tell other Museums to purchase Past Perfect if they do not have a system already in place.  I have been using it since 2001 and it works (except for the clicking thing).

Enough about that....

The Museum has 47 Garth Williams original illustrations that need to be conserved...this is a costly challenge since I was reading the receipt from the last Laura Ingalls Wilder letter we had conserved 4 years ago ($1300).  That was for 1 letter!  44 of the illustrations are in top shape so that is good news.  We plan on exhibiting a collection of the illustrations in 2013 (NEW exhibit)!  It is always exciting trying to locate professional framers in our small town area.  If you have any ideas please share!

NEW exhibit 2013!  TOOLS!!!!  Household, farming and tradesmen!  I am pretty excited about this exhibit.  It brings out a lot of things out from storage.

Work....work....work...now fun news!

Registered for the 2013 Spring Semester at SMSU....not full-time of course but 2 classes maybe 3 if I can find one online.  I am up for the challenge and very excited (do I say that phrase too much)!  It is about time this girl got some learnin'!

Turkey day is tomorrow!  The day I spend hours in the kitchen for a 20 minute meal....it is so worth it.  The house smells delicious and of course I love to cook!  I am 'preparing' a few things tonight to save time tomorrow.  I want to eat by 1pm so that means setting alarm and rising early (ugh) but then I can take a long after turkey nap!  I even have EXTRA turkey gizzards for the stuffing (I heard you say ewwww....they are yummy and I chop them up so you can pick them out).  I have a small "forgot these yesterday" list to pick up after work but I am pretty set!  I'll miss hanging with Kelly & Shelly and her family....and I will definitely miss Christina who is in Florida for the holiday...and my mom & dad...and my other brothers Chris & Frank and their families but still having a Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corny, stuffing, shrimp and pumpkin pie! (There is going to be a high number of leftovers...which is always a good plan!)

Ramble...ramble...ramble!  Time to hit PUBLISH and catch a couple hours more of sleep!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Have a safe and memorable T-Day!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Julia Child would be ashamed of me!

OK, I had good intentions of celebrating Julia Child's 100th birthday in good great cooking measure but my work schedule and laziness HAPPY HOUR GREAT DISTRACTION with Marlys (so worth it and the deep fried tasty onion rings skins were yummy).  (BTW, thank you and shout out to Sarah's husband for providing a nice lunch for us....Wild Rice & Scrambled Hamburger Casserole rocks thank you for not using chicken!)

So, I failed in doing a "JULIA CHILD" tribute today in more than one way.....

I slept in and missed the GMA tribute to her....

I had to work so I couldn't surround myself in Julia's cookbooks & DVDs....

I have a VERY sadly stocked kitchen (again laziness) to even think of what to make "Julia" style.

My PBS is PIONEER and while my darling brother and his beautiful wife get to enjoy a Julia Child special I am watching a Netflix Season 4 Disc 1 (episodes I have already seen).

I used two different kinds of pasta (and they had 2 different cook times and the first one I put in was half the time which I didn't realize and of course until after I put in the less cook time one in first).

Browned hamburger with Italian Seasoning, red pepper flakes and some garlic salt and then pour in a can of Garlic and Herb spaghetti sauce because I still always add a bit more seasoning).  Warm the sauce.

2 tbsp butter on half the pasta, sprinkle on 1 cup of mozzarella shredded cheese on top of half the pasta and then add half the meat sauce.  Continue.  Stir.

It wasn't Julia but is was actually easy and delicious and I believe on using the 'INGREDIENTS IN YOUR CUPBOARD IN A STITCH'.

That may have to be a "cookbook" title if it already hasn't been used.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Julia!  I wish I had met you years ago.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Wind down of summer

I have really limited my posting (nothing since March that I forgot to publish) but I plan on getting back at it.  If I have time to repin things on Pinterest I have time to blog. http://pinterest.com

May was busy early. I attended the AAM (American Associations of Museums) conference in Minneapolis staying at the fabulous Depot hotel.
Even had a Laura connection in my hotel room!
Met some new wonderful friends & museum contacts. Would love to attend the AAM conference in Baltimore in 2013,

Had a great lunch at the delicious food trucks downtown Minneapolis (thanks to my brother and wonderful sister-in-law)  before I hopped on a plane and headed to Atlanta, GA.

Have you ever flown into Atlanta?  You probably know about the tram that takes you from your plane to your luggage.....I didn't but if you have time walk it!  Beautiful art and history!

I met up with my mother and aunts (& uncle) to head to Greenville, SC to spend family time with my other brother.  Toured the BMW plant (I now want one), took pictures downtown with some of their interesting statues and fell across a wine tasting event in Athens, GA!  Checked out the interesting town of Athens and headed back to Atlanta to catch a plane home. Disappointed I didn't get to see more of Atlanta than the hotel.



So far summer 2012 has been interesting.  If you are my friend on Facebook you know I've been to a few places this summer.  Austin, MN for the Spam Museum, Hormel House, Mower County Historical Society (which I will be volunteering at their County Fair on Friday August 10 & Saturday August 11), Steve's Pizza and a great consignment shop.
Steve's Pizza Meal

Headed to Prairie de Chien, WI for a workshop touring the Villa Louis (awesome) and just missing the Laura Days in Burr Oak, IA!

Headed north to St Paul to hang with my brother and fantastic sister-in-law!  Brunch at W.A. Frost & Company was FANTASTIC AMAZING EMOTIONAL. Felt like I was in Paris.  Thank you, Shelly, for the awesome recommendation!

Headed more north to Duluth to visit my daughter.  Hit the Glensheen mansion and other awesome Duluth sites. Duluth Hill 1 Nicole 0! Beware Crown shots & Duluth hills!
Me & my beautiful daughter, Christina!

Back to St Paul and Science Museum for their Pirates exhibit!
The Pirate Captain 

Made supper for Kelly & Shelly and of course focused on the Garth Williams illustration auction (we won 4 more illustrations for the Museum). Couples Golf Tournament and we won our flight!
That takes care of June!

July....not much happened (NOT)! Wilder Pageant was early this year because of July 4th falling on a Weds. Plum Creek & Pioneerland Library system bought out the reserved tickets for July 7th and let their patrons attend the play for FREE! LauraPalooza 2012 the next weekend so I was in Mankato Weds.-Saturday.
One of my favorite parts was the Brown Bread food demonstration done by Amy Lauters and her wonderful mother, Linnea!  Glad we made butter too!  The Long Winter is one of my favorite Laura books!

Sunday headed to Brookings for a great hour in the Arts in the Park and delicious supper at Bravo's. Miss Beadle (Charlotte Stewart) was in Walnut Grove July 14 & 15 autographing and toured the dugout site & museum.
Me & Miss Beadle at the Ingalls Dugout site

Nellie Oleson (Alison Arngrim) snuck over to Walnut Grove to surprise her (via Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway 14 and my Expedition) and came back the next weekend to autograph too!
Me & Nellie Oleson!

It has been a very eventful exciting July!

What experiences adventures August will bring?  Expect updates on my other travels (Austin, MN again and Bismarck, ND)!  Hope to get back to St Paul to hang with my brother & sister-in-law too!

Monday! Counting down the days until opening unpublished since March 2012

I had a lot of fun in Barnes & Noble yesterday buying way too many new books and a few other random items. Instead of adding to my already large late fines for the Library I have purchased a DVD for Pilates, DVD for Yoga, Yoga Mat and some contraption you use for Pilates.  Wish me luck!
Along with the "exercise" things I bought a biography of Steve Jobs, a book on the Civil War, another book of Calvin & Hobbes

Monday, February 13, 2012

Let's start this week off right!

Yesterday before Church I had the fun of learning about this Candy store in Indiana http://www.schimpffs.com/index.html. I hope to someday visit their museum and store.  It was cool to see how they make their historical hard cinnamon candies.
Caught up on the 2nd season of "Justified".  Great ending but now anxious to see season 3.  Hope I can stream it on my laptop since Westbrook Cable doesn't provide FX!
Saw about 20 minutes of the movie Fast & the Furious (I think it was part 2). Not sure if the actors need lessons or the writers...it was kind of ridiculous to watch, thank goodness the guys all had hard bodies (as did the ladies in the movie).
Fell asleep watching golf (yes, some people do) but Congrats to Phil on winning the tournament.
Tuned into Fear Factor and I think they were filming again at the "Big Sky Ranch" in Simi Valley, CA where the "Little House on the Prairie" TV series was filmed.  Flipped back and forth between that and the GRAMMY's.  First time I watched the Grammy's and really enjoyed it.  I love music.  Whitney Houston's hits  have many connections to my life.  "Greatest Love of All" 7th grade Marching band trip where the whole bus sang her song as loud as we could or "I Will Always Love You" my husband and mine first movie together sitting in the 2nd row because the theater was packed.  Rest in Peace, dear Whitney!
Time to get ready and head to my wonderful job at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum! It is going to be a successful week!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Thursday & everyday

I have started to try to follow the daily Christ in Our Home booklet.  Today's title "Pride can be fatal". I also want to become better at organization (I have a ton of piles of papers that need to be filed).  Is there a class on how I should organize my piles of papers (history, ideas, biographies, etc).  Just thinking about this makes me stressed.  I look at the piles, shake my head and go back to something else.
Today is work on Walnut Grove area veterans' biography day to get them into an exhibit.  We have over 330 veterans to honor in this exhibit.
I misplaced a book I wanted to read before the next Leadership Class on 2/29 and misplaced the charger for my Galaxy Tab! Misplacing things reminds me of the wonderful Disney movie "Halloweentown" and the scene where all lost things go.
On to pick up my friend and head to work!  Have a wonderful and eventful day!  As a good friend re-quoted John Green last night "What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable."
BE REMARKABLE & EXTRAORDINARY!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Goals and what is it today again

Groundhog day passed (my favorite holiday next to Arbor Day) and the real PHIL saw his shadow.  I am OK with that because this winter has been remarkable and I hope that my weather friend BARB will have some insight for us soon.

Jersey GIANTS won the super bowl and they state 'world champions' but don't you have to compete internationally to be called that!  USA champs heck yeah, but...world no.  Congrats..but Buffalo will make their comeback.

Movies...I need to borrow the Help from my daughter when I am done listening to the 15 CD disk set of the book.  The audio is awesome (movie in my head)!  Watched the 'American' version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and it inspired me to continue with my passion of researching and also to get my 2nd tattoo (soon)!

Back to Goals....2/22 is the "Lent" season start for most Catholics bu since I have been attending a Lutheran Church for the past 10+ years..do they believe in the 'give up something for lent' thing?

Shout out to a friend "will the 22 days to make a new habit" trick really work?  I want to try it but....

Bedtime now and crossing my fingers I can avoid the snooze button tomorrow!